Yessenia, age 33, lives near the town of Samana in the Dominican Republic. She is the coordinator of her group, Paz y Amor (Peace and Love), and her story is representative of the other borrowers in the group.

Yessenia and her husband live with their three children in a simple home from which she also runs her small business. Yessenia sells necklaces, earrings, Avon beauty products, toiletries, and perfumes, and also makes custom clothing for her clients. With this loan, her ninth loan from Esperanza International, Yessenia plans to buy a new sewing machine and more inventory.

As in most of the Dominican Republic, life in Samana can be very difficult. Running potable water is unavailable, electricity is scarce at best, and healthcare and infrastructure are inadequate.

Despite these difficulties, Yessenia has bright hopes for the future. She plans to continue expanding her business with continued access to loans. Yessenia also hopes to improve life for her family by purchasing furniture for her home, finishing the construction of her kitchen, and buying a computer. In addition, the profits from her business will help Yessenia to buy shoes, books, backpacks, and other school supplies for her three young children. She hopes to send them to college one day, helping them become professionals and grow economically.

Thank you for your loan to Yessenia and the Paz y Amor Group!

Additional Information

This is a Group Loan

In a group loan, each member of the group receives an individual loan but is part of a larger group of individuals. The group is there to provide support to the members and to provide a system of peer pressure, but groups may or may not be formally bound by a group guarantee. In cases where there is a group guarantee, members of the group are responsible for paying back the loans of their fellow group members in the case of delinquency or default.

Kiva's Field Partners typically feature one borrower from a group. The loan description, sector, and other attributes for a group loan profile are determined by the featured borrower's loan. The other members of the group are not required to use their loans for the same purpose.